Syria Media Roundup (March 15)

[Syrians drive a vehicle through a damaged neighborhood in the northern Syrian town of al-Bab. Image by Khalil Ashawi via Flickr]

[This is a roundup of news articles and other materials circulating on Syria and reflects a wide variety of opinions. It does not reflect the views of the Syria Page Editors or of Jadaliyya. You may send your own recommendations for inclusion in each week's roundup to syria@jadaliyya.com by Monday night of every week.]

Marines have arrived in Syria to fire artillery in the fight for Raqqa (8 March, 2017) Marines from an amphibious task force have left their ships in the Middle East and deployed to Syria, establishing an outpost from which they can fire artillery in support of the fight to oust the Islamic State from the northern Syrian city of Raqqa, defense officials said.

Sieges, Demographic Shifts and Returns to ‘Liberated’ Cities (1 March, 2017) Amid a renewed offensive on Mosul and U.N.-led Syria talks in Geneva, Middle East journalist and analyst Patrick Cockburn discusses the changing demographics of Syria and Iraq, and the complexities of displaced people returning to “liberated” cities in both countries.

Where Do ISIS Fighters Go When the Caliphate Falls? (6 March, 2017) Colin P. Clarke and Amarnath Amarasingam; writes "While a clear-cut victory is far from inevitable, at the current rate, it is conceivable that U.S. forces and their allies will defeat ISIS in Iraq and Syria by killing and capturing its fighters, driving the group from key cities and villages in what formerly constituted its vaunted caliphate, and ultimately taking Raqqa, its stronghold."

Amal Clooney to Iraq: Allow U.N. probe of Islamic State Yazidi crimes (10 March, 2017) Amal Clooney, who is representing Nadia Murad and other victims of the Islamic State’s campaign against Yazidis, spoke at the United Nations to call on Iraq to allow an investigation of the Islamic State’s genocidal crimes. Britain is currently preparing a U.N. Security Council resolution backing an investigation, but Iraq is required to request the investigation first.

The Observer view on sending US troops to Syria (11 March, 2017) "Donald Trump’s decision to deploy hundreds of US marines in northern Syria last week has received surprisingly little attention. The deployment pitches relatively inexperienced American soldiers into the middle of a highly toxic, multi-fronted battlefield that includes combat-tested Kurdish militias, Syrian army troops, anti-regime fighters and Russian, Iranian and Turkish forces."

For Syrian victims, the path to justice runs through Europe (2 March, 2017) Anthony Faiola and Rick Noack writes "As dissidents, victims’ families and human rights activists begin to lose hope that the Syrian government will ever be toppled — and that international bodies will hold it accountable for alleged war crimes — they are increasingly pursuing their own justice through criminal suits in domestic European courts."

Turkey’s Syrian disaster (9 March, 2017) Simon A Waldman writes that six months into Operation Euphrates, Turkey is getting deeper into a conflict and losing friends and allies along the way.

U.S. envoy to U.N. says 'we need to get Iran' out of Syria (9 March, 2017) The United States supports the U.N.-led Syria peace talks, U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley said on Wednesday, saying Syria could no longer be a "safe haven for terrorists" and that it was important "we get Iran and their proxies out."

100 Years Of Women Refugees In 63 Riveting Photos (1 March, 2017) Throughout history people of different ethnicities and races from countries around the world have fled their homes because of war, famine, persecution and natural disaster. Germany, Vietnam, Russia, Darfur and Syria are just a few of the many countries people have had to flee from over the last 100 years.

Hopeful Tone at Syria Talks (4 March, 2017) Staffan de Mistura, the top United Nations diplomat working to resolve the civil war in Syria, which is about to enter its seventh year, reported some progress on Friday after nearly 10 days of talks in Geneva.

Review: In Documentaries on Syria, Much Despair and a Dash of Hope (10 March, 2017) If the idea of cozying up to Russia strikes you as harmless, or all those Syrian refugees are too far away to seem real, the HBO documentary “Cries From Syria” is something you ought to watch. But be prepared for an unrelenting blast of misery without a lot of context.

SYRIA INTERACTIVE CONFLICT MAP (5 MARCH 2017) The map presents main military events since November 2nd, 2016 (last release of interactive map) to March 5, 2017 . However, due to the long period covered (4 months), some less important events may have not been reported on the map.

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Quick Thoughts

Quick Thoughts is designed to provide our readers with background and analysis on topics in the news. We take our cue from current events, and ask informed observers to provide short-form commentary and context. The focus of Quick Thoughts is on the Middle East, but the column is intended to be global in reach. Send your commentary to info@Jadaliyya.com